Wednesday 2 January 2013

Top Healthy companys 2012!







2012 is here! Time to engage in our New Years resolutions!



Do you work for a "Healthy Company"? Are you looking for a "Healthy company" to work for in 2013? I researched for you and found the top "Healthy companys" of 2012!

Healthy employees are typically happy ones—not to mention they can save their company a bundle on medical costs. Research from Harvard University also shows that workplace fitness helps chip away at absenteeism, increases productivity, and reduces turnover. Given all that, it’s no surprise that corporations are redoubling their efforts to keep their workforce fit. With sparkling on-site fitness facilities, reward programs for physical activity, and group exercise outings.

This is an excellent system for travel! I take it on every trip!!




Goggle

 The search for the best fitness perks on the planet ends at Goggle, Named Fortune magazine’s top company to work for in 2011, the internet giant’s Mountain View, CA, headquarters is home to an outdoor sports complex that includes a soccer field, basketball court, tennis and bocce ball courts, a putting green, horseshoe pits, and a roller hockey rink. Inside the Googleplex, employees have access to a bowling alley and dance studio. Bay Area Googlers can be found tinkering with algorithms from behind ergonomic standing workstations, and when lunchtime rolls around, techies fill up on healthy gourmet fare from one of 28 on-site cafes—for free.

SAS INSTITUTE (10,000 employees)
Cary, N.C.
Designing computer-program languages can be dry. Perhaps that’s why this privately owned company does everything it can to keep its workers happy. For starters, the company’s headquarters offers a 58,000-square-foot fitness center equipped with a full weight room, Nautilus equipment, cardio and aerobics rooms, racquetball courts, a swimming pool, and pool tables. Outside, the campus also houses soccer, softball, and Frisbee fields; tennis courts; jogging and biking trails (where the company hosts its own version of Tour de France, dubbed the Tour de SAS); plus a putting green, a track, and horseshoe pits. For participating in one of the company’s many fitness programs, employees can earn gifts— ensuring that some 70% of the SAS workforce uses the fitness center regularly. The company also sponsors employee whitewater- rafting trips, a fishing rodeo, a golf tourney, and ski trips (to get slope-ready, there’s on-site ski conditioning and ski-training workshops at lunchtime). If that weren’t enough, break rooms are always well-stocked with snacks, and the company is well-known for perks like “Free Fruit Mondays,” “M&M Wednesdays,” and “Free Breakfast Fridays.”

NetApp

Dedicating a full workday to developing innovative data and storage management solutions entitles you to some serious playtime. At Net App's Sunnyvale, CA, headquarters a fitness complex takes up nearly the entire first floor of one of its buildings and provides more than 30 fitness classes a week as well as a full-size basketball court. Elsewhere on campus employees can enjoy ping-pong, billiards, and sand volleyball.


Brooks Sports

At Brooks, company culture revolves around running. The Bothell, WA-based performance gear maker offers its employees free and discounted race entry fees, and employees are encouraged to run daily, often participating in group runs. Brooks is home to an on-site gym that offers cross-training classes, like yoga. But what really keeps workers going are “Friday Runs,” employee runs that start at 3:30 p.m. and end with a themed party. Yes, toga and ’80s parties have been on the agenda.

TRX

It’s a tough job designing fitness gadgets that transform a door into a home gym, but somebody’s gotta do it. The masterminds behind the TRX Suspension Trainer spend their days testing and working out with strength training straps in a state-of-the-art fitness center. To thank their hard working employees, San Francisco-based TRX offers free body composition analyses, free personal trainers, and race stipends. And because an exercise profession is bound to make you hungry, fresh fruit arrives at the office each morning while raw almonds and energy bars are stocked in company kitchens. This is a great system for travel as well as an excellent addition to your home gym. I use mine while traveling.


ASTRAZENECA (13,000 U.S. employees)
Wilmington, Del.
Inspired to make a beneficial change in its employees’ lives, this pharmaceutical giant decided to roll out a unique incentive program. Workers can earn points for everything from going to the gym to attending online health seminars on topics such as stress management, nutrition, and fitness. Those points can then be used for running shoes and treadmills—even massage chairs, plasma TVs, and vacation packages. So far, an impressive 65% of employees have enrolled in the program. To ensure that fitness stays a part of the workday, the company also recently created indoor walking paths throughout its mile-long headquarters, so employees can still get power walks in during inclement weather. “We are now a company where you see everyone in running shoes,” says executive health and safety director Joe Henry. Next up: Having already revamped vending machines to include more healthy food choices, the company is working on the cafeteria, trying to draft a sliding price scale for food, with the healthiest options also being the cheapest (a salad, for instance, would cost less than that bacon cheeseburger and fries).

Chesapeake Energy Corporation

At Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corporation, the second largest producer of natural gas in the US, health and fitness are part of the corporate culture. Company headquarters house a 72,000 square-foot fitness facility, which includes a junior Olympic-sized pool, rock climbing wall, cardio, weight and cycling rooms, and basketball and racquetball courts. Through a corporate wellness program, employees can earn up to $1,500 each year for living healthy lifestyles. An employee gardening program and “keep fit” classes including scuba diving and archery are some of the additional benefits offered.
Fuse

The Vermont-based marketing agency prides itself on keeping up with youth culture, so it’s no surprise that the company’s fitness vibe falls along those lines. In fact, a skateboard halfpipe, basketball hoop, and bike repair station can be found inside the office and employees can grab stand-up paddle boards to use on the Winooski River during their lunch breaks. Workers are offered season passes to ski and snowboard areas in Vermont and bond during group outings, like snowshoe walks and white water rafting trips.

Title Nine

A mini gym sits smack-dab in the middle of the California corporate office of this sportswear company, where an instructor leads fitness classes several times a week. But the opportunities to stay fit don’t stop there. Each year, everyone from corporate employees to retail associates to warehouse workers participate in a fitness challenge. In the past Title Nine has taken on Tough Mudders, century bike rides, and even a marathon. Throughout the year Title Niners also participate in smaller challenges (think wall sits), which they call “feats of strength.” And all warehouse workers wear pedometers and can work off demerit points by logging more miles on foot. Love that idea!


Lululemon Athletica

We all know this athletic apparel company!  It helps it's employees put their health first by offering complimentary fitness classes at local stores and its Vancouver offices. Throughout the year, Lululemon staffers have the opportunity to participate in active outings such as snowshoeing and hiking. The goal-oriented organization also has staffers set health goals along with personal and professional ones.

SAS Institute

Employees at this North Carolina- based software company stay active through a variety of intramural sports—everything from billiards and racquetball to soccer and softball—as well as a complimentary membership to the on-site Recreation & Fitness Center (RFC). SAS staffers also benefit from the fitness-based incentives. Employees and their families can earn rewards by logging their runs, exercising weekly, or joining a team. After they complete a program, participants receive “RFC Dollars,” which they can redeem for items like clothing, gift certificates, and RFC services (such as massage therapy).


FOWLER WHITE BOGGS BANKER (600 employees)
Florida
After the American Heart Association challenged corporate America to get its employees moving, company-sponsored walking programs became all the rage. But the law firm of Fowler White Boggs Banker took things a step further—several steps, in fact. First, it armed each employee with a custom-built pedometer emblazoned with the firm’s name. Then, it challenged them to take at least 1,084 steps every day (one for each of the miles between the firm’s eight Florida offices). Today, more than half of the company’s employees are participating in its Start! Walking program, with each office competing to outstep the other.




We will continue to blog over the next couple of weeks, while enjoying a family ski trip to Whistler. We may blog about restaurants, outings, or our family dinners in, we don't know? It's always an adventure with our family!!

Cheers!
JJ and Amy

PS 
News Flash!  New for 2013 we have a Facebook page!  After many, many requests we have a Facebook page!! You have the option to follow on Facebook, just "like" us and you will have our blog every time we post, on your Facebook page! Yippee! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sew-Whats-Cooking-With-Joan/181543315321355~

2 comments:

  1. The company I work for is definitely not on that list! ha!

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    Replies
    1. Sorry Scott! I just saw this!! Options for you, if you are happy at your company, is to start a group, that goes for a walk before, after or during lunch time. Or, talk to your company about paying partially for a gym membership or even putting in a basketball hoop. Thanks for commenting! Cheers! JJ

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